YOUR OWN LITTLE WORLD

YOUR OWN LITTLE WORLD
Footnote: As you can tell by some of my previous articles, I’m fascinated by human thought and behavior and enjoy taking a closer look at why we say and do things..

Have you ever noticed that when you are traveling in your car, you are in your own little world ? There you are, the cab of your new Mercedes is quiet and isolated, the car has automatically re-arranged the seats, mirrors and steering wheel to your exact preset specifications. As soon as you reach 15 miles an hour the doors automatically lock to help insure your safety. The a/c is blowing cool, at just your perfect pre-set temperature, the satellite radio is set to your favorite commercial free channel and light jazz music permeates the air, thru acoustically correct and balanced surround sound speakers. An ice cold Pepsi is in the drink holder. Those special ultraviolet blocker Sunglasses are shading your eyes and giving the illusion that the world outside your custom tinted windows is crystal clear. You are 100% in control of your environment and the GPS navigation is even telling you when to turn and the distance to your destination. The truth is, its no surprise to you that everything is just right, after all, you went thru great trouble and expense to insure it was to your liking. You are like an island unto yourself. It just doesn’t get better that this.
When you stop to think about it, each of us lives in our little world, not dissimilar to the self imposed isolation we experience in our luxury cars. A world that we helped shape to our own liking. Have you ever noticed that even as people are walking on a busy sidewalk, they seem distant and detached ? A far off look in their eyes ? There they are awash, in a sea of humanity, yet strangely lost and consumed, in their own thoughts.
Of course we all live and work in a complex and crowded social environment, but within that setting, we all reserve a small and encapsulated world of our own. I guess that’s what makes us all individuals, what makes us all different.
Each of us operates under his or her own code of ethics, our own pre-conceived ideas, goals, agenda, and prejudices. To a large degree our actions are self serving, as we seek things that give us pleasure and avoid things that we find painful. Let’s face it , our brains are hard wired…we’ve got to look out for # 1. (it’s our prime directive)
We learn early on to share, get along, and interact with those around us. However everything we see and do passes thru our own set of individual mental filters. Some data is filtered on the way in and some filtered on the way out. In fact, we have so much control over what we see and hear, that sometimes we unknowingly seek input from sources that are likely to reinforce our way of thought. We bend the information we take in, thru our mental filters, to more closely coincide with what we want to see or hear.
I guess this sense of tunnel vision is why we always think we are right in any given argument. Every conversation, interaction, relationship, and altercation tends to effect our self worth..either positively or negatively
Taken to an extreme some individuals can be quite abrasive. This probably explains why some people we see walking around and driving seem so self absorbed. (everyone else get out of my way)They are wrapped up in their own thoughts, problems, worries, priorities, and ambitions. In some cases these self centered individuals begin to think that the whole world actually revolves around them.(sometimes our parents reinforce this notion while we are growing up). You know the ones I’m talking about, they have this far off, and pre-occupied look in their eyes as they walk right into you without even apologizing. (don’t get in their way when they are making a move towards a buffet line).
So, even though we are largely social creatures, we all reserve a personal space for ourselves, both physical and mental. This probably also explains the phrase “I just need a little time for myself”. So, even though we can choose to let people in to our private space from time to time ..it’s still…”Our Own Little World”
P.I.B.